Keystone (Crossbreed #1)(77)
“Christian, this week isn’t going to be about your crusade to lure me to the dark side and prove why Vampires are superior to all other Breeds. My distaste for Vampires offends you, and that’s why you’re cursing my immortal soul one minute and putting your mouth on my vein the next. I’m not like you, no matter how you slice it. I’m only half of what you are. At the end of the day, you don’t really care what happens to me, so why should you care how I live my life? I’ll see you tomorrow, and let’s work more on knowledge. If you’re too afraid you’ll break me in a fight, then you can just answer all my questions.”
I strode away, listening to him crack his knuckles.
“You’re on,” he called out. “Tomorrow morning—bright and early—we’ll fight if that’s what you want. Don’t forget to shower, because I’ll be spending all day with my head between your legs so you can demonstrate that trademark move of yours.”
What a shame I no longer menstruated.
Chapter 22
Why did I care so much about what Christian thought about me? After all, he was just a Vampire, and you couldn’t trust a fang as far as you could throw him. They were secret-stealers by nature—most turning it into a profession of blackmail. Nevertheless, I spent that entire evening thinking about what he’d said. I wanted to hate him like I hated all the others. His banter might have rubbed most people the wrong way, but I had to admit there was a familiar comfort to it. It matched my own personality, and maybe I didn’t want to see similarities between us.
While his delivery had been boorish, Christian had a point about ignoring my Vampire nature. There was no excuse for ignorance. How humiliating to think I’d been going around staking Vampires through the heart, believing that was enough to kill them.
Contrary to human beliefs, Vampires have beating hearts, warm skin, and bleed like everyone else. So stopping the heart sounded good enough to me.
It was a wonder I wasn’t dead. Immortals held grudges for a long time, and I’d been walking right into the lion’s den—revisiting those same locations where I’d staked those men.
After leaving Keystone, I took a cab into the city and spent hours in Ruby’s diner, eating four servings of hot apple pie and drinking six cups of coffee before heading out. I couldn’t stop thinking about Christian’s roguish grin, the way his lips warmed against mine, the press of his hard body… it made me wonder. Was I attracted to him, or was I just curious about my Vampire nature?
Maybe I just needed to get laid.
In any case, it was a good thing Viktor hadn’t hired me. That kiss had stoked the embers of an unnatural lust for a certain Vampire—desires that went against everything I believed in. I thought kissing him would convince me that the attraction wasn’t real, but I was wrong.
Why did I have to throw myself at a man who looks at women like disposable utensils? my inner voice nagged.
Despite that little blunder, I took advantage of the opportunity to brush up on my knowledge and fighting skills.
Six days of training passed too quickly. Niko did his best to refine my techniques and help me learn the limitations of my Mage abilities. Learning to fight like him in a week—let alone a century—was impossible. So we focused on using weapons more skillfully, how to defend myself from common maneuvers, and the basics of Mage gifts, such as telling time and sensing direction. He warned me not to deprive myself of food. Even if the Vampire side of me didn’t require it, the Mage in me needed sustenance to convert into energy.
I also had to be cautious about flashing too often since it would weaken me in a fight if I relied on it too much. My energy was dimmer than most, either because it was innate or had been suppressed after years of nonuse. Probably the former since being a crossbreed meant some of my gifts were altered, but since I had more abilities than most, that made up for any shortcomings.
I’d never met anyone quite like Niko. No wonder those men had to rush him so unexpectedly. Niko was perceptive and would have sensed them had they approached at a normal pace.
As for Christian’s sessions, they involved no physical training. I didn’t want to be locked in his arms and pinned beneath him after what had happened between us. He enlightened me on Breed facts in his imperious manner, but I didn’t spend as much time with him as I did with Niko. Christian’s antagonistic remarks left no doubt that he was only there on Viktor’s orders.
But the tension between us had more to do with that awkward kiss. It became a veil of shame, making our conversations stilted and rushed.
It was the night before my final day, and while I’d contemplated Niko’s advice about choosing the right path, it didn’t help me with figuring out what to do with my life. A career as a personal bodyguard skipped through my head a few times, but who was going to hire a woman who wasn’t legal with the Mageri? On top of that, I’d have to lie and tell them I was a Mage, and it wouldn’t be long before they figured out the truth.
In times like these, I always returned to the one place that centered me.
Home.
A home I’d readily abandoned when I was young and wild and thought I knew everything. After high school, my father had offered me a job at his garage, but I was delusional and thought a mall job would give me a normal life. Maybe it was just being around people who lived in a perfect world that made it seem possible for me to be a part of it.